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Today was a day of change. I saw rivers today that were so differnt than they were two weeks ago. The Madison, Jefferson, and Gallatin are rising. The point where the Missouri River begins was churning and chopping. And I had it all to myself- well, with the Labrador. No one else was there to…

At 7:10 this morning I stepped out of the car with the Lab and was amazed at the sheer number of birds singing. The Lab and I went to the Scratchgravels for a nice gentle meander walk about. I was hoping to get another picture of the Nuttall’s Violet, and I wanted to see how…

Obi and I went to the Helena Ridgeline after dinner this evening. I didn’t really think that was what was going to happen, but…. We started up the Mini-ridge trail to see if any of the species that we saw on Sunday starting to show signs of life had progressed. The trail was pretty sparse…

The wildflowers are really starting to pop in the greater Helena area. Today I found and photographed five new species of flowering plant. I didn’t find any new species of birds, but I suspect that that will begin changing quickly. One of the new species that I found today was Lyall‘s Rockcress. My good friend…

Today was a good day. I feel like I spent the entire day refilling my bucket instead of draining it. It’s 12 hours on the dot since we left the driveway and I am still working through all the amazing experiences and sightings we had today. I needed to make a trip that would typically…

A few days ago I came across this flower. I was excite for a couple of reasons. First, it was the first yellow flower of the season- everything else has been white so far. Second, I couldn’t easily ID it. Oooh, a challenge right out of the gate! I looked online and reviewed books about…

The last couple of days have been very nice. The snow has stopped for the moment, but the overnight lows and daytime highs are still pretty chilly. Lows in the low 20’s and highs in the mid 40’s. Plus a decent amount of wind. I suspect this is all a result of the La Niña…

I need to relive yesterday again- it was a pretty awesome day. Around 7:30am, the Lab and I were walking around the reservoir. There was a decent amount of life present. Sounds from several species of birds, gulls, geese, and Great Blue Heron flying over in skeins, couples or singly. And it was snowing lightly.…

Up until about a week ago, all the local watering holes were ice- and ice-fisherman covered. I believe that dynamic has changed and the time ice fishing is over- the time of birding has begun. Someone documented a Caspian Tern in our local reservoir yesterday, so as soon as I was able, I headed out…

The wildflower in season has started. This morning the Labrador and I took a quick walk up to see the burn area on Mount Helena. On the way up, we found phlox beginning to blossom; we also found bitterroot leaves popping up out of the ground in relatively large numbers in a reliable location for…